Steven Spielberg Denies Making Osama bin Laden Movie

August 28, 2012 - 1:35 pm
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VIBE Pop Culture

Conflicting reports say that Spielberg is optioning for an Osama Bin Laden film.

But reportedly filmmaker Steven Spielberg has denied that he is working on a movie about the US Navy Seals operation which lead to Osama Bin Laden's death. A representative for the 65-year-old director has clarified that he and DreamWorks never planned to adapt No Easy Day, a book about the hunt for Bin Laden which is written by one of the Navy Seals who joined the infamous attack in Abbottabad, Pakistan, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The article also reported that Owen was "one of the first men through the door on the third floor of bin Laden's lair in Pakistan." He was also there when the Al Qaeda leader died in May 2011. His book, No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden, will be released in the U.S. on September 11.

This was not the only movie about the Hunt for Bin Laden that is in the works, as several studios recently have begun greenlighting projects. For instance, Sony Pictures will release Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by her longtime collaborator Mark Boal, on December 19.

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Earlier this month, it was announced that Ghostbusters will be re-imagined. While the news sat well with fans of the mid-80s cult classic, it struck a nerve with others that are attached to the movie’s cinematic lineage.

Comedian Leslie Jones took to her Twitter account to air out her opinion, stating the all-women cast of 2016’s rendition of Ghostbusters, which she was a part of, were overlooked. “So insulting. Like f**k us. We dint count. It’s like something Trump would do. (Trump voice) ‘Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers’ ugh so annoying,” she tweeted. “Such a d**k move. And I don’t give f**k I’m saying something!!”

The Saturday Night Live cast member also displayed how the upcoming film, which is slated to be released in 2020, and its possible all male cast will diminish the box office success of a cast spearheaded by women. “...if they make this new one with all me and it does well which it will, it might feel that ‘boys are better.’ It makes my heart drop,” she said. “Maybe I could have use different words but I’m allowed to have my feelings just like them.”

So insulting. Like fuck us. We dint count. It’s like something trump would do. (Trump voice)”Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers” ugh so annoying. Such a dick move. And I don’t give fuck I’m saying something!!

— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) January 19, 2019

It’s very sad that this is response I get.When the point is if they make this new one with all men and it does well which it will. It might feel that “boys are better”it makes my heart drop. Maybe I could have use different words but I’m allowed to have my feelings just like them

— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) January 20, 2019

The all-women adaptation of Ghostbusters, which also starred Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Jones’ fellow SNL cast mate Kate McKinnon, netted $180 million at the worldwide box office at its time of release. While it was one of the most talked about films of that year, during the press run Jones received a wave of racist comments from social media users, a moment that led the entertainer to take a step away from the Twitter platform.

“You have to hate yourself to put out that type of hate. I mean on my worst day I can’t think of this type of hate to put out,” she said.

An unauthorized documentary about the rise of musician Drake can be viewed on video distribution services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Drake: Rewriting the Rules initially dropped on Vimeo in Nov. 2018, and now, fans of the "God's Plan" musician will have a chance to watch it at their leisure on other platforms.

The documentary chronicles the music superstar from his days growing up in Toronto, to portraying Jimmy on the hit-teen drama Degrassi, to becoming a hip-hop star and working with musicians from Kanye West to his Young Money leader, Lil Wayne.

"Discover the untold story of how Drake rewrote the rules and rose from a child actor to become a cultural phenomenon and global musical icon," writes IMDb of the film's synopsis. "He is the king of pop and hip hop, combining many musical styles into one mainstream sound." The film runs 74 minutes long. Interviews from media figures and writers are included in the doc, which was directed and written by British filmmaker Ray King. However, no representatives from Drake's team are included.

Drake has not commented on the doc as of press time. He has been relatively quiet in the news, however, it's being reported that he is close to securing a residency of sorts at the Wynn's XS Nightclub in Las Vegas.

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But all that glitters isn't gold.

FYRE FRAUD, the new documentary streaming on Hulu, takes an intimate look at the scam that left thousands stranded on the island. Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, the dark-comedy interviews whistleblowers, victims, and the convicted con-man himself, McFarland.

In a press release, Fraust and Nason said the goal isn't to make light of those who were scammed.

"Our aim was to set the stage for a strange journey into the moral abyss of our digital age, going beyond the meme to show an ecosystem of enablers, driven by profit and willing to look the other way, for their own gain.

"We draw on countless cultural references, on true crime tension, and on humor - but we did not intend to create a toothless comedy about the Fyre Festival. We hope this film can pierce our collective apathy and disrupt our own millennial peers, if only for an instant - to look at these stories for what they truly are, and to halt this algorithm before it devours us whole."